On Tuesday 1 December, IASH Director Steve Yearley delivered a lecture for Newcastle University's INSIGHTS Virtual Lecture series, titled The first draft human genome at 20: how has genomics altered the way humanity understands itself? The lecture was hosted by Professor Sally Shortall, with an introduction from Dr Suzanne Moffatt.
This year marks twenty years since the first draft of the human genome was created, one of humankind’s most important scientific accomplishments. The human genome promises to tell us a lot more a lot more about humans as a biological entity but many social scientists have been reluctant to embrace these findings. If the genomic knowledge is as powerful as some people believe, there is a danger of upsetting everything we understand about social science. In this lecture, Professor Steve Yearley argues that scientists should work together to investigate both biological and environmental influences.
A full recording of the lecture is available on YouTube, and is embedded below.